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TiVo victorious in major DVR patent suit

TiVo has emerged victorious in their patent lawsuit against EchoStar. The jury in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has awarded TiVo US $73 million in damages. The sum falls $16 million shy of the damages originally sought by the company, but in this instance the win may be worth more than the winnings.

TiVo alleged that EchoStar infringed upon proprietary TiVo technology when the company designed its own DVR for its Dish Network. At the center of the clash was a patent for a "multimedia time warping system"a patent so broad that many expect TiVo's victory to have reverberations throughout the DVR landscape. In fact, yesterday's announcement of an extended agreement between TiVo and DirecTV was partially spurred by a promise of "protection" from similar future lawsuits, should TiVo find success in the courts.

With the jury siding with TiVo, the future looks to be full of lawsuit potential. And as you might expect, those lawsuits will be preceded by EchoStar's appealing the verdict. It has been suggested that EchoStar could adopt a strategy of attrition, ultimately hoping to appear victorious by either winning an appeal or outlasting the smaller, quirkier TiVo through an extended appeals process. Furthermore, EchoStar retaliated against TiVo's original lawsuit with a suit of their own, and that trial will not begin for another 9 months. For now, their response to today's decision is not known.

Also unknown are TiVo's next steps. The company could begin challenging other competitors in court, or could develop a royalty program instead. We expect that the company will do both as it seeks to take advantage of this revenue stream using whatever methods necessary. Part of their plans could include increased pressure on cable companies, which by and large have opted to "roll their own" when it comes to DVRs. Could TiVo use this victory as a way to potentially shoehorn TiVo and its products back into more cable product line-ups? It's certainly a possibility.

Ken Fisher
Ken is the founder & Editor-in-Chief of Ars Technica. A veteran of the IT industry and a scholar of antiquity, Ken studies the emergence of intellectual property regimes and their effects on culture and innovation. Emailken@arstechnica.com//Twitter@kenfisher